On the recordDecember 18, 2024
Mr. President, I don't think I have had a better friend in the U.S. Senate than Senator Kyrsten Sinema. We are best friends. I would not have predicted that at the outset. By all appearance, we are about as different as we can be. But actually, our roots are very much in the same soil. We have grown up with the kinds of values that have shaped our lives and our public service. When she first came to the Senate floor, her appearance was quite striking and her personality was, in a similar vein, highly noticeable. And I turned to one of my Senate colleagues, and I said: What do you think about that new Senator from Arizona? And he said: I can tell you right now, she is going to be trouble. She obtained the nickname ``Trouble'' at that point and has carried it ever since, at least in my lexicon. The truth is, she has been so far from trouble, it is hard to imagine a less appropriate name. Why is that? One, I believe she has been the most productive U.S. Senator in the last 6 years of anyone in this body. Now, there may be a competition, here and there, from other people, but I don't think so. If you look at all the legislation of significance that has been passed over the last 6 years, she has been critical to it, generally leading it, at least a co-chair, in virtually all of that legislation. At the same time, she gets along with everybody. I think those are related.…





